


Summer Tempest

by MagicMeg



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fake AH Crew, M/M, Slightly Freewood Centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 20:09:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6343459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicMeg/pseuds/MagicMeg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In Los Santos, a summer storm is known to last. When Ryan meets Gavin, lightning strikes and luckily no one is hurt.</p>
<p>But with the second flash comes Meg Turney, and this time no one is safe from its thunderous wake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Tempest

He was their golden boy. With his hair feathered around his face and a pair of golden sunglasses perfectly resting on his nose. A grin was always stretched across his mouth, adding balance to his gangly limbs which stuck out of his designer clothes. He had a golden flare gun shoved in one of his belt-loops (his skinny jeans too tight for it to be in his back pocket) and whenever he stood up it tumbled from its haphazard home.

That’s how Gavin was when Ryan first met him – perfect.

Every misplaced hair on his head was done so with purpose. There was no accident behind his presentation, he glided across the room in front of clients he needed to impress, and tumbled in front of those he needed to trick into thinking he was weak.

Ryan was anything but perfect. The only thing which fit him properly was his mask, which was scratched and tattered from loving wear. His leather jacket which was always slung across his shoulders made his movements heavy and stiff. It didn’t make him any less a good shot but he supposed it made him look that much more closed off - unlike Gavin was who was eternally fluid and enticing.

Maybe that’s why Ryan avoided him at first. He had just assumed so much perfection could never work with him. Or maybe he just thought the guy was a jackass. (Probably both.)

It was when he first saw Gavin un-perfect that Ryan started to fall in love with him. And maybe that’s weird. But it what’s made Gavin more human- more real. They were doing a job together when the smoke-bomb went off. Ryan heard Gavin’s ‘oof’ and his flare gun clattering to the ground, and Ryan dove towards the sound.

He met dark boots and the sound of someone being punched. He quickly took down the guard who’d been holding his gun between Gavin’s eyes.

As the smoke was clearing the first thing he saw was blood and Gavin’s sunglasses smashed on the ground.

His lip was split and the blood was trailing down his chin; the brightness of the crimson blood contrasting with the darkening bruise under his cheekbone. Ryan knuckles skimmed his jaw as he asked, “Are you alright?”

Gavin had jumped at the contact, eyes widening at the gentle touch. “Y-yeah. Thanks for taking out that bloke.”

Ryan shrugged. “It’s what I do.” His hand dropped, he ducked down and picked up the scuffed flare gun and handed it to the Brit. Gavin’s soft fingers had grazed against his calloused ones and Ryan felt goose-bumps blossom across his skin.

The man had never struck him like that before.

Perfect Gavin.

But this wasn’t Perfect Gavin, it was _Just Gavin_. Without those obnoxious sunglasses he could see the hazel-green of his eyes and the way they looked up at him – analytical and surprised.

Once he’d seen _Just Gavin_ , he couldn’t un-see him. Every time Gavin pushed his sunglasses up his nose or shrugged on one of his expensive shirts Ryan noticed the tumble of his hands and the fumble of his fingers. He no longer looked purposeful but just _Gavin_. Clumsy Gavin.

And maybe he’d revealed something in himself that day, with his fingers on Gavin’s jaw. It must have been startling for the silent Vagabond to touch him so tenderly. It was uncharacteristic but the split in the Brit’s lip had struck a chord within him.

Like the flash of lightning during a summer night storm, everything changed between the two of them. They went from professional and slightly awkward to overly fond (and still awkward). Ryan ruffled his hair and squeezed his arm. Gavin teased him relentlessly and begged to be on his team in heists.

( _“Come on Rye-Bread! Team Love n’ Stuff!”)_

It wasn’t long until he had Gavin pressed up against a wall, kissing him as his life depended on it.

But he’s getting ahead of himself. Storms in Los Santos have been known to last, deep into the summer nights and lightning was never meant to strike twice but with _them_ it did.

\----

They were flicking through the TV channels, Gavin was slouched on Ryan’s sofa and Jack was in the back taking a shower. That’s when they first saw her- a perky redhead with curls bouncing as she delivered the news on their latest bank robbery. Gavin cocked his head to the side as he watched her.

She delivered the report very tongue-in-cheek, with a grin shining through the screen. A replica grin tugged at Ryan’s lips – normally the reporters presented the news with a solemn expression as they condemned the Fake AH crew but this reporter took a chatty tone – even complimenting Ryan’s use of throwing knives to pin an officer to the backseat of a police car.

“I like her,” Gavin told him, looking over his shoulder to where Ryan was watching the TV from the counter as he made their stir fry.

“Like who?” Jack asked, entering the living-room as she rubbed her hair dry with a towel.

“The bird on telly,” the Brit explained, nodding to the screen where she was commenting on the Chief of Police’s latest statement on the TV, her tone laced with sarcasm at his incompetence.

Jack paused to listen, and was soon chuckling at one her jokes. “Ah, yeah I think I’ve seen her before. Name’s Meg or something like that. Geoff’s been keeping an eye on her.”

Ryan raised his eyebrow, “What for?”

She grinned, “Let’s just say she’s not actually a reporter.”

\----

When Ryan saw her first she was engrossed in a conversation with Gavin, perched upon a bar stool as she sipped on a cocktail. Her lips were stretched in the same teasing smile he’d seen on his TV and Gavin laughed just as genuinely.

A small spark of jealousy twinged in Ryan’s stomach and he found himself hesitating as he walked up to them. Gavin and himself had been dancing in between friends and more-than-friends but it was still blurry enough that Ryan still wasn’t sure if Gavin reciprocated his feelings.

She saw him first; her brown eyes raising to meet his hesitant blue ones but her smile didn’t falter – if anything it turned more sincere. Gavin looked over his shoulder at him and his smile mimicked hers.

“Hey Rye,” he chirped, a slightly tipsy slur to his words, “This is Meg. Y’know the one from the telly.”

She waved at him as she sipped more of her cocktail. He smiled nervously and waved back.

“You the Vagabond then?” she inquired, her eyes focussed very closely on him and he suddenly felt like a spotlight had been put on him, shuffling nervously under her inquisitive gaze.

He nodded, “That’s what they call me.”

“Or the Skull,” Gavin added, “The hipsters call you that.”

Ryan chuckled at his comment, “Yeah, they insist on using my name from back when I worked on the East Coast. Little do they know that it just gets their new Macbook smashed.”

Meg laughed and Gavin rolled his eyes. “Rye, you need to let go of this Apple-hate.”

Her eyes widened excitedly at this- “Oh my god! Are you in support of the PC Master Race?!”

Gavin turned to her shocked, “Don’t encourage him!”

Ryan chose to ignore the Brit’s comment as he grinned at Meg, “Obviously. You won’t catch me spending a ridiculous amount of money on sub-par software. But we have to excuse Gavin, it’s clear that he gets a thrill out of wasting money on stupidly expensive shit,” he said, furthering his point by knocking the Brit’s sunglasses off of his head. ( _I mean really. They were in a dim bar. At night.)_

Meg squealed with laughter as Gavin squawked indignantly, “Oh because you spend _so_ little money on those precious knives of yours.”

“What’s wrong with spending money on knives?” Ryan cried.

“They only end up in people’s necks, innit? Why would go through the effort of getting something expensive you just leave in someone’s body?” Gavin argued.

At this point Meg butted in again. “How the fuck are you part of Fake AH and not know that it’s poor form to leave knives behind. It’s both evidence _and_ makes it more likely that the victim will survive.”

Gavin look at her, outraged. “Whose bloody side are you on, Turney?!”

Ryan cackled evilly as Meg raised her eyebrows and said, “I don’t believe I ever announced any alignments.”

“Yeah but I was ‘ere first!” he protested – he tended to drop his ‘h’s more when he got ‘bevved up’.

She folded her arms and said, “Oh I’m so sorry! I forgot the golden rule that women come under the purview of ‘you snooze, you lose.’ Sorry, Ryan I’m afraid you’re just going to have to fuck off. Gavin’s claimed me! No other man may touch me, I’m-“

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Gavin interrupted, his voice getting more bird-like as the conversation escalated. But Ryan wasn’t concentrating on that, he was too busy trying to hide his blush at Meg implying that he and Gavin were competing for her attention. It wasn’t that it was entirely false (and he had no idea how that had arisen) but it was more the open acknowledgement that there was lots of flirtatious smiles flowing between the three of them.

He was brought back to reality by Gavin furiously thumping his arm and demanding, “Tell her I didn’t mean it like that, Rye-Bread!”

He grinned at the smaller man, “Sorry, Gavin. You’re on your own for this one.”

And his heart thumped at the way her eyes twinkled at him.

\----

Meg worked under Rooster Teeth – the Fake AH’s ‘mommy’ from Austin – answering to the infamous Burnie Burns. He’d sent her out to Los Santos on an under-cover mission to check out how well Fake AH were _really_ doing, compared to what Geoff told him. What she had reported back was mostly positive – except for the patchy intel they had on other crews.

_Apparently_ just assuming that the other Los Santos crews weren’t going to fuck with them anytime soon was, as Meg put it, “fucking stupid.”

As a result, Burnie transferred Meg temporarily to Fake AH to set up an intricate spy network which would infiltrate any rival crews. This meant that she had very little contact with the main six, excluding Gavin – whose job mostly entailed pretending to be a clueless rich twenty-something. This led to the Brit frequently being pulled out of their penthouse to HQ to help Meg organise and train their spies. More and more often Gavin didn’t make it home until the late hours of the night, often missing their game nights to slump into bed.

Whilst Ryan was saddened by their recent decline in time alone together, he couldn’t be mad at Gavin for following orders. He was simply doing his job and making sure he was doing it well. They both knew that if Gavin did a thorough job of this now, it would eventually be able to run itself like clockwork and they could get back to where they were before.

The thing which had Ryan’s skin crawling with annoyance was the explosion of Gavin and Meg jokes within the main six. Whenever Gavin had to leave abruptly for HQ, Michael and Geoff would let out a large chorus of ‘Oooo’s before cawing, “Make sure you use protection, buddy!”

Geoff also began giving dramatic monologues about his ‘little British boy’ growing up and finally leaving the nest as Michael cackled about how Gavin was going to fuck this up for himself _so_ quickly.

(All in jest, of course. When Michael thought no one was looking, Ryan had caught Michael mouthing ‘Good luck, boi’ with a warm smile on his face.)

The only people who noticed the way Ryan would stiffen seemed to be Jack and Jeremy, who would try to direct conversation away from Meg and Gavin, and if that didn’t work, send him an apologetic look.

The latter of which he had no idea how to respond to. So he just kept his face blank, pretending everything was okay.

‘ _It’s just a joke_ ,’ he kept telling himself.

\----

It was crunch-time within the crew, the spy programme had begun its launch a week previously and Fake AH were preparing for a big heist at the end of the month. That meant Ryan’s life had become late nights and takeout, all of which were very uncomplimentary to his mood. It didn’t help that Gavin didn’t even come home to the penthouse most nights, reducing the time he spent with Ryan to brief smiles over a weapons-deal.

Ryan comforted himself in the knowledge that the spy programme had _finally_ launched, so soon Gavin would be back and things would be like they were before. Except, Ryan planned to make one small difference – after so much time apart he was impatient to finally get his mouth on Gavin’s. Fuck all the tip-toeing around each other, he was going to tell Gavin how he felt – no matter the consequences and as soon as possible.

It was only a day before the heist when Ryan finally found his moment. He was about to head out of HQ for the night (after picking up some spare masks from their ‘props closet’) when he heard Gavin’s voice echo down the corridor.

His heart leapt in his chest, followed by that nervous pain that came before an important moment. Then, before he could doubt himself, he chased after the source of the sound. Words swirled around his head and he hastily tried to figure out _how_ he was going to say it when he rounded the corner.

He froze.

Ryan watched as Meg pulled Gavin down to catch his mouth with hers, her hands placed firmly on either side of his face. The kiss was brief but they both lingered, resting their foreheads together.

His stomach dropped.

It wasn’t a first kiss, or even a second kiss. It was the well-practiced ‘stay safe, don’t die’ kiss he’d seen Geoff and Griffon exchange before heists. And now he was seeing Gavin and Meg in that same intimacy.

He stumbled backwards and fell against a wall out of sight, trying to slow his quickening breath. Ryan distantly heard the murmur of their voices before their feet, heading down the corridor in the opposite direction.

When they were far enough away, he let the emotions hit him.

First came the bitter disappointment and utter heartbreak. Months and months of flirting and hopefulness shattered in moments.

Then it was the anguished regret, of knowing that if he had just stepped in sooner, _he_ could’ve been the one kissing Gavin goodnight.

Doubt briefly took place in him as he wondered if Gavin was even interested in the first place. But that was quickly replaced by betrayal.

How long had this been going on? When did Michael and Geoff’s jokes become a reality and _why_ had no one told him? He curled his hands into fists – The answer was, of course, obvious. No one told him to spare his feelings- which was just as humiliating and insulting as the situation itself. The infamous Vagabond reduced to a heart-broken puppy in need of protecting. Anger slowly clouded his vision at the thought that Gavin had reduced him to such.

Fuck Gavin for not telling him. For kissing her so casually as if he didn’t know it would break Ryan’s heart. Fuck him for so easily discarding Ryan’s feelings. And fuck him for leading Ryan on in the first place.

…When the rage subsided, the misery drifted back in, tinted with ruefulness. He slumped down onto the carpeted floor and rested his head on his knees, shutting his eyes so that he couldn’t see his vision being blurred by tears.

\----

When Ryan turned up to the helipad the following day, he felt like shit. He’d barely slept and he was filled with tension and nerves. Normally a heist had him bouncing on his feet and cracking jokes but as he entered the chopper and climbed into his seat next to Michael he was silent and brooding.

At first, Michael tried bugging him to find out what was wrong and then he tried getting Ryan excited by trying to set up a bet of who could blow up a police cruiser first – but to no avail. Ryan just nodded or muttered, “Yeah.”

Finally, the younger mans’ patience ran out and he snapped, “What the fuck’s wrong with you, Ryan?”

And as if on cue, Gavin entered the vehicle and said, “Good morning, boys!” His gaze didn’t quite meet Ryan, but the older man was looking very much in the opposite direction of the Brit. He remained that way until Gavin walked past them and up to the co-pilot seat beside Jack.

The silence held for a little bit before Michael said quietly, “So you found out.”

Ryan clenched his jaw but offered no reply. It was bad enough that everyone had apparently known before him, he didn’t need to confirm that it was the cause for his crappy mood.

He could feel Michael’s pitying eyes burning into the side of his mask and it only served to make him more annoyed. He pursed his lips, refusing to let his angry words come out, lest they reveal just how hurt he was.

“Look, he didn’t mean for you to-“ Michael began but he was cut off by Geoff bounding aboard and yelling instructions. The floor beneath them shook as the chopper began to rise and the heist began.

\----

It was a mess. Ryan, too full of irritation, let it out the only way he really knew how – by causing chaos. It was meant to be a clean job, only going for the explosives if the cops got out of hand but as soon as Ryan heard the wailing of the sirens he was pulling out his rocket launcher and basking in the warm flames.

They barely managed to get out alive. Ryan called attention to them far too quickly and the police had choppers in the air even before they were ready to take off. They blew up Fake AH’s chopper, giving Jack a burn across her shoulder and chin and forcing them to separate into the streets.

Ryan ended up tugging Michael into a dumpster as choppers flew overhead. They were both out of bullets and the younger man probably had a concussion from being thrown into a wall by an especially aggressive cop. Ryan could tell by Michael’s uneven breathing that his ribs were probably bruised as well.

He was gripped with guilt, and whilst he couldn’t risk speaking and drawing attention to them, he expressed his apology by wrapping his arms around the younger man gently. Michael huffed an annoyed breath but nonetheless reached up and squeezed his arm.

Michael’s forgiveness spread through Ryan like warm honey, making all his pent-up anger melt away. His careless actions weighed heavy on his heart and he felt ashamed of how childishly he had behaved. He usually prided himself for his unwavering professionalism and yet he’d let his crush on Gavin completely overwhelm him to the point where he put the whole team in danger.

\----

Eventually, the outside noise subsided and Ryan risked peeking out of their make-shift hideout to see if the coast was clear. Once he decided they were safe, he climbed out and helped Michael do the same. With his arm supporting Michael, they limped down the alleyway to a quiet parking lot where Ryan hijacked a car and drove them back to base.

The sun was just disappearing behind the horizon when they finally reached the front door of the penthouse. Ryan knocked on the door and even before he dropped his hand the door was flying open and he was greeted by Jack’s relieved face.

“Thank goodness,” she gasped, “You’re alive.”

Michael snorted, “They would have to try a lot harder to get rid of us.” His voice rasped and guilt stung at Ryan again.

His eyes were stuck on the bandages on Jack’s neck and she must have caught his sorrowful gaze because she cut off his apology with, “I’m fine. I’ve had worse before.”

“Are they back?!” Ryan heard a voice echo from with inside. A very British voice which caused his heart to pang unevenly.

When he flew into view, Jack had already taken Michael to a nearby chair where Caleb could tend to his wounds but Gavin didn’t seem to notice anyone else – he crashed into Ryan’s arms, nearly knocking the breath out of him. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around the Brit, everything else fading into background noise.

All he could hear was Gavin muttering, “You’re such an idiot, Rye. You could’ve died.”

Then reality flooded back in and the guilt absorbed him again. “ _Everyone_ could’ve died,” Ryan muttered, pushing free of Gavin’s embrace. The other man’s expression fell slightly, but he didn’t move to correct him. 

Ryan caught Michael watching them over Gavin’s shoulder and suddenly the room felt far too stuffy. “I need to talk to Geoff,” he said to no one in particular before rushing out of the living room towards Geoff’s bedroom, ignoring Jack’s plea for him to stay and get Caleb to check him over.

When he entered the bedroom Geoff was sitting on the edge of his bed, focussed on wrapping a bandage around his hand. “So,” his boss began, “let’s talk about what happened today.”

Closing the door behind him, Ryan nodded, pulling his mask off to nervously play with it in his hands. “I fucked up.”

“Mhmm,” Geoff agreed, finally looking up to pierce Ryan with his angry gaze, “That’s one way of putting it.”

Ryan dropped his head to look at his feet, not being able to carry the weight of disappointment in Geoff’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” he said to the floor, “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Yeah you do,” he replied sharply, “You don’t think I notice you giving Gavin the cold-shoulder?” When Ryan offered no reply, Geoff continued. “So you found out about Gavin and Meg?”

He wrung the mask in his hands, nodding as he didn’t trust his voice not to waver.

Geoff let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping. “I told Gavin to just tell you but he insisted on keeping it ‘casual’ – whatever the fuck that means. And I told him that it was a dick-move to start seeing her when you two were so clearly involved.”

He shut his eyes at the word ‘involved’ as if he was trying to shut the pain out. Geoff paused, assessing Ryan’s body language before he let out another sigh.

“Look, buddy, I can’t have another job go like it did today.”

“It won’t,” Ryan said gruffly.

“You’re one of my best, Ryan,” Geoff assured him, “But I can’t have you on the field if you’re going to let your emotions control you.” Ryan clamped his mouth shut, stopping the protest before it even left his lips – he’d already fucked up enough that day, he didn’t need to add ‘arguing with his boss’ to the list. “So I’m going to transfer you to HQ to do some tech work- y’know the kind of stuff you were doing when you first got here. When you think you’re ready to get back out on the field, let me know and we’ll see what we can do.”

Ryan nodded.

“I want you back on the team as soon as possible,” Geoff promised him, “but I also need to keep everyone safe. It’s on me if we lose someone.”

Another nod. “I know.” He paused. “Who will I be working with?”

A smile twitched on Geoff’s lips. “Uhm… Well, the person who works in your department is… Meg.”

Ryan’s head shot up. “No.”

Geoff raised his eyebrows, “I’m afraid you’re not in any position to argue with me, Ryan.”

The younger man slumped against the wall. “Is this to be my punishment then?” he asked tiredly.

“Think of it more like an opportunity for closure.”

Ryan folded his arms, hugging himself close. It still sounded like a punishment.

“You’ll be starting tomorrow,” Geoff continued, “I’ve already got them setting up a room for you near HQ.”

“I’m not even allowed to stay here?”

“The best way to quit an addiction is to go cold turkey straight away,” Geoff replied sadly.

“How am I meant to avoid Gavin _and_ work with his girlfriend?” Ryan snapped, the word ‘girlfriend’ tasting sour on his lips.

“Well Gavin will be banned from HQ as recompense for creating this situation in the first place. He can see her on his free time but not during work hours,” he explained. “Any more questions?”

Ryan wracked his brains for more flaws in the plan but couldn’t come up with any. So he settled for a clipped, “No, sir.”

“Perfect!” he said clapping his hands, “Jeremy will be helping you transfer your personal items to your new flat. And Meg will be reporting back to me, so be on your best behaviour, alright?”

“Yes, sir,” Ryan replied tersely.

Geoff’s face softened but before he could offer more apologies Ryan was cutting him off and saying, “I’ll be out of your hair then,” before quickly leaving the room.

\----

When Ryan woke up the next morning, for a few blessed moments he forgot where he was. But then his eyes fluttered open and he was greeted with the unfamiliar bedroom of his new flat and unbearable silence which almost never occurred when he was living in a penthouse with six other people.

When he realised where he was, he quickly remembered why and dread filled him like a cloying ooze. He was slow to crawl out of bed, to shower and to eat – so much so that when he finally checked into HQ, Lindsay commented, “Someone took their time this morning.”

He vaguely wondered if she was sour at him for getting Michael hurt but he had never known Lindsay to hold a grudge so he shook off that notion as he entered the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

Ryan tried to compose himself and think little about the fact that he was going to have to spend the whole day with Meg. But how could he not when all he could picture was her, on her tip-toes, kissing Gavin? He tried to remember when he met her in the bar – how she had made him laugh and how for a moment, he’d wanted her. Those memories seemed dreamlike in their innocence as he remembered laughing with Gavin and Meg as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

As the elevator dinged and its doors dragged open, memories became reality as he was greeted by Meg, her smile bright (only wavering slightly when he did not offer the same cheerfulness). As she led him to their office, she chatted happily to him about the spy-database he would be helping her format and organise (Gavin not having that sort of expertise to help her) and then about meaningless things such as the view from their office or how comfortable their chairs were.

Despite his efforts, he could not tune out her voice or her eagerness. He wished to remain stoic and boring, refusing to succumb to her brightness but with her nervous giggle he felt himself softening, so that when she asked him if he wanted a drink, instead of saying ‘No’ he said, “A diet coke, please.”

And when she raised an eyebrow and said, “This early in the morning?” he allowed his lips to twitch as he shrugged.

“It’s a habit.”

“Fair enough,” she replied, “We’re just in here-“ she gestured to a door which had the Fake AH symbol painted onto it, “-I’ll be right back with your drink so you can have some time to get settled.”

He nodded and she smiled before turning on her heels and disappearing down the corridor. Without her presence, he let his shoulders relax and he walked into the office. He felt his eyes immediately drawn to the long windows which gave a perfect view of Mount Chiliad – she wasn’t lying, the view was something.

A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he reminisced on what the Fake AH tech department looked like when he had joined so many years ago – the word ‘department’ being a loose term when it was simply him in Geoff’s garage still under the pseudonym of ‘Skull’, the wanna-be criminal from the East Coast.

“You like it?”

Meg’s voice made him jump and for a moment he forgot himself- “Yeah, it’s lovely,” he replied sincerely.

At his soft tone, a grin blossomed across her face and the very image of her genuine happiness spread warmth throughout his chest – that he could make her so happy just by being pleasant.

‘ _No wonder Gavin fell for her,_ ’ he thought sadly, his gaze dropping, the warmth in his chest fading just as quickly as it had originally arisen.

“I got you your Diet Coke,” she told him, a hint of anxiousness in her voice upon seeing him close up again.

He nodded, “Thanks.”

She hesitated, “I guess I should start running you through the plans. Then you can tell me how to make sense of all this coding crap.”

Another nod. Silence seemed to be his saving grace of late, his words were not to be trusted.

\----

The first day was not horrendous but then again it wasn’t pleasant. Ryan continually wondered if she knew what Gavin meant to him but due to obvious reasons could not ask her. Instead, he simply brooded, glaring at the framed photo of her and Gavin on her desk and answering her prying questions with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. For a work colleague, she sure as hell wanted to know a lot about his life and he wasn’t used to people taking such a vested interest in him (apart from Gavin and his endless game of Twenty Questions).

He sighed. As always, his thoughts circled back to Gavin. He’d grown to habitually checking his phone and scrolling through their text-messages – and even though the pain was equal to that of a knife-wound, it kept him from completely breaking down. As long as he had those text-messages, he still had Gavin, even in the smallest of ways.

Meg and Ryan spent just under a week working with each other when Meg finally stopped with the light-hearted humour to ask him, “What’s the problem, Ryan?”

He lifted his head up from his computer to look across at her desk. She was leaning back in her chair with her arms folded across her chest and a mournful expression on her face. And for the first time, Ryan let himself feel guilty for being so hard on her – it’s not like she fell for Gavin to hurt Ryan, and it’s not like he could really blame her for being susceptible to his stupid charm.

He felt a frown tug on his lips at her expression, and guilt gave way to honesty. “I don’t suppose Gavin’s told you much about me.”

Meg shook her head, “You’re a topic he avoids if he can.” Ryan winced. “When I met you at the bar that night I assumed that you two were…”

He smiled ruefully, “Well, we nearly were.”

Meg’s seriousness seemed to fall to confusion, her brow furrowing as she asked, “What happened?”

He huffed a laugh and nodded towards the framed photo of her and Gavin she had on her desk. When her eyes met the photo her expression fell even further as she let out a quiet, “Oh.”

“I’ve been childish about it,” he admitted apologetically.

She continued to frown at the photo, “I’m sorry.”

Ryan shook his head, all of the anger he held from her slipping away. “Don’t be. I care about him, I want him to be happy. Even if it hurts.”

It was a quick turn-around from trying to ignore her existence to comforting her guilt – but there was something about her that was impossible to hate. Maybe it was the video-game jokes she always made or how she made sure there was a mini-fridge stocked with Diet Coke, or maybe it was something with a less easy explanation – but either way he knew he couldn’t keep hating her. Latching onto that hate was a way of latching onto his feelings for Gavin and it was time that he let go.

\----

It wasn’t an easy task. Gavin had been his world for months and during that time when Ryan had thought about the future – Gavin was in it. Now he was a passing breeze that drifted in and out of conversation and haunted his dreams.

His indefinite future was now Meg. As strange and foreign as that seemed. His life was significantly less bloody as he spent his days tapping away at a computer – it was as if he had fallen through a wormhole and into a parallel universe. To keep his blood lust tamed, he threw himself into video-games with lots of gore so that he didn’t dismember a random citizen on the street.

But now that Ryan’s head wasn’t swarmed with disorientating emotion, he could see why Geoff did what he did. Working away from the chaos and with Meg really brought him back to himself. Rather than the love-sick puppy he hated to be. He felt like Ryan again and felt in control of himself.

So, naturally, he should’ve been calling Geoff and telling him he was ready to re-join the main crew. But he never did.

\----

It was a moderately nice autumn morning when he turned up to work that day, Meg’s choice order of Starbucks in his hand as he rode the elevator up to their floor. He hummed to himself the melody of a long forgotten song, not caring if it was out of tune.

As the doors pinged open he smiled at the people he passed on the way to their office. He pushed their door open and had his ‘good morning’ halfway off his tongue when the words fell back into his throat.

Meg, in her usual seat, looked nervous behind her ‘trying-to-be-normal’ smile as Geoff was lolled back in Ryan’s chair, his sneakers kicked up onto his desk.

At first there was silence, when Ryan tried to make words and Geoff just smiled sardonically at him, meanwhile Meg watched nervously between the two – trying to figure out which way this encounter would go when she finally burst out – “Is that for me, Ryan?”

His gaze moved to her, he nodded and replied, “Of course.” He drifted over to her and passed the hot drink into her eager hands.

With that interaction Geoff seemed to finally crack. “Hey, Meg. Would you mind giving us a minute?”

She was nodding even before he finished, as if she had been waiting the whole time to politely excuse herself. “I’ll just be at Ashley’s office if you need me,” she told them before dashing off to their in-office identity thief.

With Meg gone Ryan had no choice but to turn back to Geoff and be drilled by his piercing gaze – the one that threatened to see every inch of your soul if you gave him the right angle.

“You don’t have to hang about like that,” Geoff told him, “Sit down.”

Ryan paused. “You’re kinda in my seat.”

“Then sit in Meg’s.”

“Right,” he replied, awkwardly making his way to her desk and sitting down. His eyes were drawn to the familiar picture frame, Gavin’s awkward smile gazing out at him, making this whole situation all that much worse.

“So I told you to give me a shout when you were ready to re-join the crew,” Geoff began, his tone far from the joking one he was used to.

Ryan nodded. “Yeah you did. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

Geoff raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re giving me that bullshit.”

He offered no reply.

“You’ve been here five months. At month two Meg told me that she expected you’d be back with the crew in a few weeks,” Geoff snapped, “And yet here you are getting coffee - with Meg defending you and saying you ‘just need some time.’”

Ryan remained silent.

“You want to be part of this crew right?” Geoff demanded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then fucking act like it. You’re back with us next week,” he told him, pushing away from the desk and getting up from his chair. “And no calling in sick.”

Ryan stood up to stop him leaving, “But Geoff-“

Geoff had snapped around before Ryan could even finish his sentence, cutting him off as he said, “Look, Ryan. I don’t know what the fuck kind of game you’re playing at. First you’re in love with Gavin and you have to leave. You hate it here, you’re rude to Meg and refuse to settle. Then, all of the sudden you’re employee of the month, doing coffee runs and all chummy with your crush’s girlfriend. So **what** are you doing? Are you sleeping with her?”

“No!” Ryan cried, outraged.

“Then what?” he asked. “What could possibly be keeping you here if it’s not her?”

Ryan hesitated- “I don’t… I…”

Why had he been staying? He was itching to get back into the field but never once had he been tempted to ring up Geoff and ask him to let him back in the crew.

He thought about his life over the past few months. The playful back-and-forth with Meg, with the routine, the laughter, the way she smiled at him and how fulfilled he felt just to be the person who got her to smile with all her teeth-

It hit him like a train.

And it was as if Geoff could see it punch right through him because his boss’ expression went from anger to surprise and maybe a bit of sadistic glee.

“Oh Jesus.” Geoff was cackling now, howling in pure delight at Ryan’s horrified expression. “You’re so fucking stupid. Oh my fucking god. This is the funniest thing that’s ever happened. Oh my god. You’re so fucking unlucky. Jesus Christ you poor fuck.”

Ryan’s hands were curling into fists and before he let the emotion control him again he took a steady breath and tried to ignore Geoff’s mocking laughter.

Finally, when Geoff’s face was sufficiently red and he was wiping away the tears, Ryan said stiffly, “I’ll see you next week then.” And he was out of the office and out of the building before Geoff even realised that this actually fucked things up even more. Just when he thought things might be sorting themselves out.

\----

Ryan was on his way to Los Santos’ airport before he was even thinking about where he was running to. All he knew is that he needed to get as far away as possible from this shit-storm he’d created.

Just as he was pulling up to the airplane hangar, his phone started ringing in his pocket. He hastily climbed out of the car and when he yanked his phone out of his pocket and saw Meg’s name flashing on the screen – he answered on instinct.

“Yes?”

“Don’t fucking ‘yes’ me like you didn’t just fucking disappear,” came the immediate response, her voice tight with anger and misplaced concern.

“I just needed to get some air,” he lied as he approached a group of pilots who were watching him with suspicion and nervousness.

“Bullshit, I can hear the airplanes you know,” she snapped. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

He sighed. Resigning himself to the sad truth, he told her, “I can’t do it anymore, Meg. I’m sorry.”

Her breath seemed to hitch at his words, her voice becoming instantly softer. “Rye, you don’t have to run. We can sort it-“

“No,” he said firmly, though his voice wavered, “I need to go.”

“But-“

He hung up. He’d reached the pilots now and he had to control the nervous tremors making his hand shake. “Good morning all. I’m in need of a pilot.”

“We ain’t flying you,” one of them grunted.

Ryan smirked. “Ah, but I think you are.” He brought out a wad of cash from his pocket and toyed with it. “I believe this will far exceed your normal rate.”

There was silence. Then one of them spoke up, a different one from before. “Where you going?”

His shoulders relaxed as he said flippantly, “Anywhere. As long as it’s far away.”

“I’ll take you then,” a taller woman said, breaking from the gaggle of pilots to walk towards him. “I assume that cash will pay for my silence too?”

“Naturally,” Ryan responded.

She nodded. “When do you want to leave?”

“Now.”

\----

The hotel he was staying in was nice but a far stretch away from the luxury he’d grown accustomed to. It reminded him of his early days, when he was on contract work for Geoff here and there. It left a sour taste in his mouth to think of his humble beginnings and how he’d spent all that time only to end up alone again.

He was sitting on his bed, watching the glow of the orange London sun be cut in half by the Shard’s silhouette. The Shard was only a spec in the distance, as he’d chosen a location in the south of London, but his hotel was perched on a hill which gave him a perfect view of the city’s skyline.

The irony of his pilot choosing London wasn’t lost on him. Whilst Ryan knew that Gavin didn’t hail from this metropolitan city, the thick accent of its locals made a lump form in his throat for the people he’d lost. Maybe he’d come back some day, when his heart wasn’t so vulnerable and his reason weak. A day when he could shelter his heart against love, against Gavin, and against Meg.

He tried to imagine walking into a room and seeing either Gavin and Meg and _not_ feeling automatically drawn to them. It felt wrong. To leave behind how he felt for them felt almost like leaving behind a part of him, as if they were intrinsically a part of him.

Shaking his head, Ryan discarded such romantic notions. It was only the nostalgia and current state of his heart which made him reluctant to part from them. With time, he would be alright.

Or at least that’s what he told himself.

But he couldn’t get Meg’s final words to him out of his head. When she begged him to stay and assured him that they could somehow sort it out. His unfortunately hopeful side couldn’t help but wonder- for her tone had been so soft and rich with emotion- Ryan shook his head, discarding the thought. She was his friend, and they’d grown very close over the past few months, it was natural for him to be worried about him.

Yet as he went to sleep that night he couldn’t help but dream of a world where they both wanted him too.

\----

Ryan was woken abruptly by water being splashed onto his face.

He jerked awake, he was tangled in the covers and the cold water ran down his bare chest. Before anything else, he grabbed the gun off the bed-side table and pointed it at-

His arms shook and suddenly the gun became too heavy for him. Gavin was staring at him, angry with this eyes rimmed red.

Neither of them spoke. Ryan’s mind was racing with the _how_ and _why_ of Gavin’s sudden appearance in his hotel room whilst Gavin continued his furious glare. Ryan noticed that he was shaking (even though he wasn’t the one doused in cold water) and he instinctually wanted to lean over and comfort him - to wrap his arms around his skinny frame.

Instead he asked, rather hoarsely, “What are you doing here?”

“What do you _think_ I’m doing here, you pleb?” he responded snappishly. “You did a runner. I’m getting you back.”

“I figured they would send Jeremy,” Ryan replied tersely. He had been prepared for Jeremy to appear but never Gavin.

Gavin’s arms folded across his chest. “ _I’m_ the one who finds people.”

Ryan nodded. “I’m aware. I just assumed you weren’t too keen on finding _me_ ,” he said coolly.

He bristled at this comment. “Why would that be?”

Snorting, Ryan replied, “Maybe because you’ve been fucking avoiding me for around half a year now.” And when Gavin looked like he was about the protest, he cut him off- “Don’t fucking deny it, Gavin. You and I both know that from the moment you met Meg, I no longer meant shit to you.”

“That’s not true!” Gavin cried, his voice ripe with insult which only served to piss Ryan off more.

Pushing himself off the bed he marched over to where Gavin was standing and snarled, “Don’t insult me by pretending. I don’t know what good you thought you were going to do by coming here but I don’t want to be around you, Gavin. And I most certainly don’t want to come home with you.”

Up close he could see the tears which threatened to trail down the Brit’s cheeks. The words he said felt wrong in his mouth and the tears didn’t help his guilt, but after so many months of keeping his mouth shut – he couldn’t hold back.

“And what about Meg then?” Gavin retorted, his voice wavering, “Do you never want to see her again?”

Ryan was thrown by the mention of Meg. “I-“ he stammered, “I don’t see how she’s relevant.”

It was Gavin’s turn to let out a cold laugh. “Oh who’s pretending now, _Rye-Bread_?” he drawled scathingly, “Don’t think Geoff didn’t immediately come to me and tell me everything the moment he knew you’d done a runner.”

He swallowed. Equally grateful that Gavin kept talking (so that he didn’t have to) and equally fearful of what was to come.

“Meg kept dancing around your name because she knew… she knew you and I-“ Gavin broke off, not quite being able to say it out loud, and that hurt Ryan more than he expected. “And I was so sure that something _had_ to be going on so I nudged Geoff to see when you’d be coming back to the crew. And low and behold it turns out that you’d fallen for _my_ girlfriend.”

Gavin paused. And when he spoke again his voice was quieter, but no means less angry. “And you _ran_. You didn’t even pause to consider what it would do to her.”

Furrowing his brow, Ryan questioned, “To _her_?”

“Yes, you idiot. To her. You really think Meg buys mini-fridges filled with Diet Coke for all her colleagues?” he asked patronisingly.

Ryan hated how Gavin was talking to him, like _he_ was the child in trouble, like _he_ was the one being an idiot. He was so filled with bubbling anger he didn’t even pause to full process what Gavin meant by his words.

“You’re such a fucking hypocrite,” Ryan snarled. “You’ve flown across an ocean to tell me off about running away from someone and hurting their feelings?” He barked out a laugh. “How. Fucking. Rich. Do you not even realise how hypocritical that is – or are you really that much of a fucking idiot?”

“Ryan,” Gavin warned, his voice tight.

“No seriously. I want to know how you intend to explain why what _I’m_ doing is worse than what _you_ fucking did to _me_ ,” Ryan demanded.

For a moment, Gavin looked like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing furiously until he cried, “I didn’t know what to fucking do! You weren’t making any moves and Meg was and I… I really liked you both-“

“So then you decided to completely drop me? Instead of, you know, just talking to me about it. Like a normal adult human.”

Gavin snapped back, “Talking about normal, are we? _You_ nearly got us all killed because you saw me kissing her. Sorry, if I didn’t really want to broach the subject with you.”

Ryan snarled, “You’re such a fucking idiot. Do you have no idea how the real world works? You can’t just abandon people like that and expect them to be fine!”

“Then think about Meg!” Gavin yelled, “Yes- _I_ fucked things up, I hurt you. But you don’t need to hurt her because of it.”

“Why the _fuck_ are we talking about Meg?!” Ryan bellowed, his voice cracking, “I don’t fucking give a shit about either of you two. Don’t you get it Gavin? _Nothing_ would make me fucking happier than you two leaving my life forever!”

He wasn’t expecting the punch in the face. It was so uncharacteristically Gavin that Ryan didn’t know how to respond, other than to stagger backwards and cup his aching nose. It wasn’t broken and it wasn’t bleeding but it still fucking hurt. The Brit watched him, his chest heaving with angry breaths.

The swimming in his head gave Ryan a moment to look at him, to _really_ look at him for the first time in ages. He took in all the new details alongside the familiar old ones. He had let his beard grow out and Ryan liked it more than he’d care to admit. His gaze drifted across his tanned wrists and the cufflinks on his stupid expensive shirt. They were new too. But the shirt wasn’t. He finally brought himself to look into Gavin’s eyes, the familiar hazel-green cutting him deep. It hurt, it reminded him of just how much he’d missed him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologised at once, “I didn’t mean any of it.”

Gavin’s eyes, upon meeting Ryan’s, became immediately mournful. “I’m sorry too,” he croaked.

It was as if the last months crumbled away and all Ryan was left with was overpowering want. He moved into Gavin’s personal space, ushering him up against the wall behind him and resting his right arm beside Gavin’s head.

“Rye… I need you to come home. Please come back home to us. We can sort it out.” Gavin said softly, his eyes trained on Ryan’s mouth. Meg’s words from the phone call echoed in his head and a small smile tugged on Ryan’s lips. The older man bridged the gap and caught Gavin’s mouth with his. The Brit responded with vigour, biting down on Ryan’s lips and when he gasped, pushed his tongue into his mouth.

It was like breathing for the first time. Ryan lost himself in the dizzying feeling on Gavin’s lips against his own and the strong scent of his cologne clogged his senses. With every brush of Gavin’s tongue against his lip he sighed and pressed himself closer to the younger man. Then when Gavin grinded up against him, they let out twin moans into each other’s mouths and Gavin’s fingers twisted into Ryan’s hair.

\----

Storms in Los Santos are always messy and someone always gets hurt. People act recklessly to avoid its wrath - only to end up more in danger than before. But the sun always breaks through the clouds and whilst the effects of the storm linger, the city soldiers on.

Because for every summer storm, there’s a summer’s day on the horizon.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, another fic set in the GTA universe. I'm weak for it, don't blame me.


End file.
